From there, alcohol can cause the blood vessels in your eyes to swell, which leads to bloodshot eyes. Moreover, bloodshot eyes can be a sign of more serious complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and addiction. Always seek the an honest drug guide for raves festivals and clubs clubnight advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
- Heavy alcohol consumption is more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
- Alcohol abuse can cause various types of damage to the eye, even permanently damaging the optic nerve or contributing to conditions like macular degeneration, cataracts, or glaucoma.
- For example, many people have occult eye muscle imbalances, but the sober brain can preserve crisp, single vision.
- It is crucial to seek professional help and treatment if you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol abuse and experiencing eye-related symptoms.
- It can even lead to night blindness and, in some cases, complete loss of eyesight.
This helpline is answered by Ark Behavioral Health, an addiction treatment provider with treatment facilities in Massachusetts and Ohio. Addiction Resource aims to provide only the most current, accurate information in regards to addiction and addiction treatment, which means we only reference the most credible sources available. Cataracts are a condition identifiable by an opaque layer on the lens of the eye that causes blurred vision.
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This condition, also known as tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, can cause irreversible eye damage over time. Limiting your alcohol intake is crucial to protect your optic nerve and maintain good overall eye health. Alcohol abuse can have detrimental effects on overall health, including the eyes. The appearance and condition of when good tv goes bad can vary, but common signs may include redness, bloodshot eyes, yellowing of the whites of the eyes, and dryness.
Impact on your health
If you or a loved one has acquired alcoholic eyes, that is a sign that treatment for the AUD is needed. The sooner help is sought for alcoholism, the sooner the damage to the eyes will stop. These studies demonstrate that alcohol consumption can have multiple consequences for eyesight and visual performance. Cataracts are cloudy areas that develop within the natural lens of your eyes, causing blurry or cloudy vision. By moderating your alcohol consumption, you could lower the likelihood of cataract development in the long run.
It’s crucial to work closely with healthcare professionals throughout the recovery process to monitor and support your progress. The guidance provided by specialists at addiction treatment centers, such as Sabino Recovery, can be invaluable in helping you regain control over your life and vision. The way your eyes look is important, but your eyes are also suffering from those toxic levels in other ways.
How to Successfully Stop Drinking Alcohol
This is because alcohol intake, especially in excess, can cause dehydration, which affects the eyes’ ability to produce tears and lubricate themselves adequately. Furthermore, alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk of cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathies, and retinal vascular diseases. It can lead to bloodshot or red eyes due to the dilation of blood vessels.
You also struggle to process information and may also be less likely to feel physical pain. This partially explains why you can take a punch or fall on the floor and not be in pain until the following morning. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions.
Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge. A 2020 study published in Nutrients also confirmed alcohol’s diuretic effect and subsequent water retention, causing facial puffiness in 78% of individuals studied. Alcohol depletes essential nutrients like B vitamins, crucial for healthy nerve function. This can lead to nerve-related itching, known as generalized pruritus. Estimates suggest up to 25% of chronic itch cases relate to alcohol misuse. Law enforcement officers assess several alcohol-induced changes to the eyes when performing a field sobriety test on a suspected impaired driver.
Skin cancer
In addition to these visible changes, alcohol also has an impact on the eyes that may not be immediately noticeable. For example, excessive drinking can lead to permanent damage to the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain. While there is still a lot of research to do to determine what causes this specifically, it is typically the result of alcohol’s ability to speed up the natural aging of the eyes.
In general, women are already more likely to develop dry eye than men due to natural hormone fluctuations. Alcohol consumption refers to the intake of drinks containing ethyl alcohol. In the long-term cases, however, alcohol is capable of doing some dramatic damage.
The effect of alcohol on your eyes and vision depends on many factors, including how much, how often and even what you drink. It can have both short- and long-term visual effects, including blurry vision, double vision and dry eye. In addition to the short-term and temporary effects of alcohol, consuming heavy amounts of alcohol can lead to irreversible eye problems over time. You might develop a painless loss of vision, decreased peripheral vision, or reduced color vision.
If you have ever experienced eye pain after drinking alcohol, you might already know some of the ways in which this substance can be dangerous toward your body. The combination of alcohol and eye pain is an indicator that something is not quite right. It’s important to note that binge drinking can be dangerous even if you don’t consider yourself to be an alcoholic. Binge drinking is generally defined as four or more drinks within two hours, and it can cause longer-term damage to your liver and other organs.
Your eyes will become swollen or bloodshot because alcohol causes the blood vessels in that part of your body to swell. If you are constantly drinking alcohol, those vessels are under constant attack and don’t have time to return to their normal state. In addition, alcohol will cause you to become dehydrated, which means that your eyes may become dry, itchy, and irritated. When alcohol is consumed, it is metabolized by the liver, which breaks it down into byproducts.